Sea Forest

The theme representing floors 1 through 10 is the Sea Forest.

A forest submerged in the sea.

The sounds of rain spreading through the forest.

But raindrops are no longer visible. Because it’s already submerged in water.

Though it was a landscape where sea and forest merged, overall it was closer to a forest than a sea.

Like Atlantis sinking beneath the sea, the forest has sunk here.

Perhaps because of that, trees and plants settled throughout had different forms.

Each emits light as if illuminating the dark sea.

Trees with amethysts attached emit purple light, brightening the surroundings.

Green moss attached to rocks also emits light like emeralds.

The light spreading as if blending in water gives a feeling of being in a watercolor painting.

“The forest submerged in the sea holds quiet stories hidden in blue waves, like memories of forgotten time.”

This is the description related to the Sea Forest. A message players see when they enter.

“The trees dance quietly underwater, listening to the whispers of the wind. Sunlight rides the waves down, shining on the forest’s past like stars twinkling on the water’s surface, letting you feel the breath of lives that once lived there. This place is a piece of a lost world, full of nature’s mystery.”

The continuously dark forest is surrounded by light at just one moment.

In the moment when the sun rises, the forest emits a bright light as if all light is resonating.

It evokes a bittersweet beauty like the evening glow.

Though just a fleeting moment, it seems more beautiful and more regretful because of that.

It shines brilliantly as if wishing for the forgotten light to be remembered.

The Sea Forest forms a peculiar ecosystem.

Although the landscape was close to a forest, the animals residing there resembled fish.

Many had names the same as animals on Earth.

But their appearances weren’t identical.

They looked as if the animal’s name was literally interpreted.

For example, a sea cow was truly a fish that looked like a cow, and a sea elephant was a fish that looked like an elephant.

The sea cow had a body covered with fish scales. It had a cow’s head and horns, and its fins combined with legs allowed it to swim as if running.

The sea cow is a creature that lives attached to the ground, but could briefly swim through the empty space.

Only its heavy body quickly sinks.

It primarily lives by consuming aquatic plants like seaweed.

It’s a docile non-aggressive monster, but if attacked, the entire nearby herd will attack, so caution is needed.

The sea elephant wears a shell similar to crustaceans around its body, making it appear as if wearing armor.

Large ears as fins allow them to move nimbly despite their size.

Instead, they are heavy, so they cannot swim freely through empty space.

They also live in herds and eat leaves attached to trees.

Again, they are non-aggressive monsters, so they aren’t very threatening as long as you don’t attack first.

Unlike sea cows, you should be careful as they can cast simple magic.

Caution is needed as they can shoot water with strong pressure from their trunks.

Since both are non-aggressive monsters, their combat power itself is strong.

It’s better not to disturb them if possible, but there’s a dilemma that hunting is necessary to obtain decent equipment.

There are also aggressive-type monsters.

Representative examples include jellyfish and green water creatures that shoot acidic substances, as seen in the tutorial.

Instead of attacking first, their difficulty is low.

But since ambushes can happen anytime, it’s not easy to completely let down your guard.

Besides monsters, there are other living things. The residents living there.

They are a different concept from the Tower’s NPCs.

Residents belong to the floors, which are a subset of the Tower.

They live without knowing about the existence of the Tower.

Among the residents are underwater tree spirits and the seahorses they raise.

As the name “spirit” suggests, these are beings created by ‘Time.’

Monsters are created by ‘Destruction,’ while residents are creatures created by ‘Time.’

Therefore, monsters are hostile to players and hinder them. Conversely, residents are generally friendly to players and tend to help.

Underwater tree spirits were beings connected to the trees in the sea. They serve to protect the trees’ vitality.

Trees provide oxygen that allows players to breathe in the underwater forest.

Because of them, there are trees, and because of trees, players can freely operate in the Sea Forest.

They each have glowing leaves. Using these as lanterns, they can easily find their way even in the dark sea.

They can also converse with underwater monsters, so they play a role in creating their own ecosystem.

Seahorses are livestock raised by underwater tree spirits.

They have an appearance similar to horses. Like sea cows, their legs and fins are combined, allowing them to run freely.

Since their body itself was light, they could jump up close to the water’s surface.

Among seahorses, individuals called leaders had horns on their foreheads like unicorns.

They use the light emitted from those horns to gather seahorses and also have the effect of purifying polluted water.

“How is it?”

Sleet asked, looking up at me with an expression full of expectation.

I turned off the trailer video flowing from the phone and said,

“But why are you asking me this?”

“What?”

“I’m a Constellation, not the Development Department.”

Sleet looks at me with eyes that seem shocked.

“You should show this to the Moon, who’s the administrator.”

“How could you say such a thing?”

I was dumbfounded at the sight of Sleet looking at me with eyes full of betrayal.

“You participated in the design process!”

“Well, that’s true.”

“Then you should see the results too!”

I scratched my head while looking at Sleet.

He was looking at me with a gaze full of expectation.

It was burdensome. I don’t know why he’s doing this only to me.

‘Time’ and the Sun also participated in the design process just the same.

“It’s fine. It seems well-made. You did good.”

When I praised him while patting his head, his mouth spreads from ear to ear.

He leaks a loose smile with an expression that seems elated.

“Hehehe.”

I found it funny how he tried to hide his happiness.

It doesn’t seem like it would be hidden even if he tries.

“Did you show it to the Moon?”

“Yes, I showed it. But there wasn’t much reaction, so I’m not sure if it’s okay.”

“What about other people?”

“I only showed it to people who participated in the design.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, but I’m not sure if everyone’s reactions are good.”

Am I different? I thought I was pretty good at hiding my expressions too.

“It’s all visible in your expression, Lib! That’s why I like it!”

Should I be happy because it’s a compliment? Should I be angry?

“It’s a compliment!”

“Okay, thanks for now.”

I deliberately erased my uneasy feeling and patted his head.

“How are the other facilities coming along?”

“Curious, right? I did well finding you, right?!”

He pushes his face forward and his eyes twinkle.

I pulled my body back because it was burdensome.

I pressed Sleet’s forehead, which kept pushing forward, to prevent further entry.

“I am a bit curious.”

“Hihi. All tutorial-related facilities are built. I’ve implemented everything like training facilities too.”

Stats don’t increase just by training.

So you might ask why training facilities are necessary, but there’s a reason. It wasn’t just for simple interior purposes.

While it can’t raise stats themselves, it can enhance their efficiency.

People don’t fully draw out their potential as they live.

There are hardly any people who can utilize 100% of their body. Or it could be said there aren’t any.

People can’t even properly output from the body they’ve lived with all their lives.

There’s no way they could draw proper efficiency even if stats suddenly increase.

It’s to allow them to adapt to their changed body through training.

“I’ve already implemented all the floors after the 10th floor too. Now we just have to wait.”

Once the first person passes the 10th floor, the plan was to select the next batch immediately.

Since it would be an official release then, there would be many more players entering the Tower.

The number of players who have entered the Tower has still not exceeded 10.

This was the case even though currently, it’s impossible to fail in the tutorial.

Even this was an improvement in survival rate, with weapons being provided from the start.

Still, it wasn’t an entirely bad situation.

Because it was visible that players’ skills were increasing as their magic adaptation improved.

The survival rate showed an upward trend as they adapted to the magic emitted by the Tower.

If we can help with adaptation, the survival rate will naturally increase.

If the current players faithfully fulfill their role as vanguards, there was plenty to expect.

There were also contents that would open by themselves.

When reaching the 10th floor, a system similar to job advancement called class opens, and a guild system also opens.

There was still much room to grow stronger.

As the saying goes, “The more urgent, the more roundabout way,” we can advance one step at a time slowly.